The Return of Godzilla (2018 film)
GMA Films Funimation Films |rating = PG PG-13 R |budget = ¥3,500,000,000 |gross = ¥9,874,283,000 )}} $5,832,974 )}} |runtime = 148 minutes 201 minutes |designs = ManilaGoji}} The Return of Godzilla (ゴジラ2018：マニラS.O.S.！, Godzilla 2018: Manila S.O.S.!) is a 2018 Japanese tokusatsu kaiju film co-produced by Toho and GMA Films, and the twenty-ninth installment in the Godzilla series, as well as the first in the Reiwa series. Starring Gabbi Garcia and Kate Valdez, the film is about a young woman who tries to survive after accidentally witnessing her friend being murdered, at the same time a giant monster emerges and reveals itself to the world. It was released to Japanese theaters on January 29, 2018, and to American theaters on June 30, 2018. The film reimagines Godzilla's origins in the Republic of the Philippines. Plot :This plot section only contains the theatrical version of the film. Deleted scenes or sequences included in the extended version are not included. The film starts with a backstory explaining how the rapid development of humanity in the 20th century caused new issues on Earth to occur such as human overpopulation, pollution, or climate change, and describes that when the right time comes, a creature will emerge that will maintain the "balance" of nature, preventing species from overpopulating or causing more harm to Earth's ecosystem. At the start of 2018, 17-year old Lily Pelaez, who lives in the city of Manila, Philippines with her close relative Diana, from Bacolod, wants to join into another beauty pageant, but her mother, who is working overseas in Paris, France, doesn't want her to join due to recent events such as the incident in Mexico City only a few months ago. Nicole, her best friend, lets Lily join the pageant, but with Diana. The two travel to Calamba City to join the beauty pageant, and there Lily meets Cecilia Perez, who is also joining the pageant, with them becoming friends. At nearby Mount Makiling, strange unusual activity is being detected, giving warnings to surrounding areas as activity on the volcano begins to increase. On February 14, while the pageant is being held at a five-star hotel in Pasay City, Cecilia wants something new to boost her reputation as the new mayor of a city, revealing that she joined the pageant in an attempt to expose an unknown killer who is known for murdering people in beauty pageants, with the latest incident taking place in Mexico City. Lily is being invited into a hotel room by an mysterious person, with Cecilia following her. Nicole goes to the pageant with her older sister Ella even though she hates Nicole after she fell in love on Ella's boyfriend. Volcanic quakes became much more frequent and stronger resulting in evacuation of surrounding areas like Calamba. While attempting to save Lily, Cecilia was killed, resulting in nationwide panic as all beauty pageants across the country being suspended under the President's orders. The next day, the police now considers Lily as the only witness behind Cecilia's death, and promises that her identity is not going to be revealed to the public due to safety concerns. However, because of Ella, her identity was revealed to the entire Philippines one week later, and places her life at risk. The Philippines' Department of Justice asks Lily to enter the Witness Protection Program, but she refuses, while Nicole and Ella have a brief fight after exposing Lily's identity to the public. The Philippine government, asks for help to the United Nations due to the country still recovering from the effects of a strong typhoon that hit the Philippines only less three months ago, followed by the recent volcanic activity at Mount Makiling, the UN held their emergency meeting regarding the recent events at their headquarters in New York City. Three weeks later, while on the iconic Rizal Park with Diana and Kathleen, Lily is again kidnapped and is taken hostage at the Manila City Hall, disrupting local traffic and increasing panic on the country's citizens. At the other side of Metro Manila, college student Jessica dela Fuente is now going towards school when she is suddenly killed as a case of mistaken identity, with her friend Eileen blaming Lily for Jessica's death. Back in Mount Makiling, the volcano finally erupts, however - a giant 80-meter tall monster emerges from the volcano, and it begins causing destruction in nearby Calamba. The UN calls for another emergency meeting with the other world nations, as scientists all over the world panic as the giant monster's existence violates the Square Cube Law, while the Armed Forces of the Philippines begins planning its attack on the monster, with the Defense line being set up at Santa Rosa, only a few kilometers south of Manila. The UN announces the creation of the Earth Defense Force, combining all of the world's military forces into one, with Japan now revealing their first "superweapon" - the Super X, it was built in case of a nuclear attack due to the increasing tensions in the East Asia region, but the Japanese decided not to reveal it to the public because of increasing tensions. The United States follows Japan's decision as well, announcing their own "superweapon" in the form of a newly-developed type of missile that can destroy any known elements on Earth, named the Full Metal missiles. The Japanese and American governments decided to help the Philippine government on fighting the giant monster, which the Japanese now calls Gojira, a legendary sea creature in Japanese legend. It was translated into English as Godzilla by the UN, with the Philippines begins using the name "Godzilla" for the monster. Nicole risks her life as she tries to save Lily, while the European Union announces to the UN that some of their nations also developed their own superweapon - the Maser Cannons, but it is not complete. The Japanese agreed to help in order to complete it as soon as possible. Annalyn and Louise, another friends of Lily and Nicole, goes to the Manila City Hall and tells them about the existence of Godzilla, while Nicole manages to rescue Lily. The Philippine president finally makes an emergency press briefing regarding Godzilla and the hostage incident in Manila, places the entire country under a state of emergency, with the evacuation plan now being studied by the government officials. Later that night, another one of Lily's friends, Nina, was found now dead at her own home, officials believe her death was caused by either love triangle or robbery, but Nicole doesn't believe in this and thinks she was killed on purpose. Louise decides to stay at Lily's house with Diana and Nicole, while Lily's mother returns to Manila from Paris. Louise tries to call her friend Chelsea (who is also Eileen's sister), but it is too late as she is already being murdered while her phone continued ringing. The Philippine government then allows the use of foreign superweapons on Philippine soil, with the devices now being transported to Manila. The next day, Godzilla approaches the Defense line, where several tanks, helicopters, and fighter jets attack Godzilla, but their weapons had no effect on him. The monster then releases a blue-colored, thin beam that destroys anything it touches, named the "Atomic Breath" by the scientists. The Japanese insisted that the Super X should be used now, but the Philippine government disagrees. Godzilla walks through the Defense line without a scratch, the US proposes the use of nuclear weapons, but many countries oppose due to Godzilla being in a major populated area, and might cause more damage than Godzilla. With the Defense line broken, the Philippine government announces the large-scale evacuation of Metro Manila, with Eileen evacuating to her grandmother's home in Antipolo. Godzilla enters Metro Manila and begins causing destruction on Muntinlupa City, destroying the skyscraper districts of Alabang and Filinvest Corporate City into ruins. During the evacuation, Lily is invited into the Presidental Palace to expose everything she knows regarding Cecilia's death, where the President also announces the evacuation of many high-ranking government officials such as the vice-president by helicopter to Baguio. The Maser Cannons are now delivered to Manila, where they will be used against Godzilla in Binondo, where many of the skyscrapers are now also equipped with bombs. Godzilla enters Taguig, where the US military forces begins attacking Godzilla with their Full Metal missile rounds. While it managed to hurt Godzilla a little, he managed to regenerate from it only less than a second, and wipes out both the US forces and Bonifacio Global City with his atomic breath. Lily goes to the Presidental Palace with Nicole, Diana, Kathleen, and Annalyn, but Ella is planning something bad again. During the live broadcast, Lily exposes the truth to the whole world, while Ella and Nicole encounter each other, causing the two to fight again. With the truth exposed, congressman Vince Carazo shoots Annalyn, kills Kathleen, and takes Lily hostage, while lights at the Palace goes out as Godzilla enters Makati. The president is now evacuated to Baguio by helicopter, while the Japanese uses the Super X against Godzilla as he makes his way through the Makati Central Business District. Eileen mourns her sister's death, and seeks revenge on Lily, but after seeing the truth on worldwide television, she finally forgives Lily for blaming someone that is innocent. The Super X attacks Godzilla with cadmium rounds, and manages to weaken him. However, he was able to regenerate from it multiple times, and finally uses his atomic breath, disabling the Japanese superweapon. Godzilla knocks over a skyscraper into it, destroying Super X as it explodes to pieces. Godzilla makes his way to Manila, where Nicole again tries to save Lily after having a fight with Ella that injured her. Godzilla blows up the Presidental Palace with his atomic breath, killing Ella, while the British government send out a group of fighter jets in an attempt to stop Godzilla, but it fails after being destroyed by the giant monster. Annalyn, who is injured, is brought into a hospital just outside of Metro Manila, while the presence of civilians in the main battle area causes unexpected change of plans to the military's efforts against Godzilla. While being blocked off by the military at Taft Avenue, Lily was able to escape on her own, with Vince chasing her. Godzilla fires his atomic breath at the Manila City Hall clock tower and Torre de Manila, destroying a Manila LRT train, and some of the Maser Cannons stationed there. Godzilla makes his way to the Quiapo district, easily destroying a military command post, while Nicole encounters Vince and rescues Lily again while in the middle of Jones Bridge, Godzilla passes through Santa Cruz and heads toward the Pasig River, approaching Jones Bridge. Nicole and Lily try to escape the bridge, but Vince manages to shoot Lily, causing her to fall from the bridge and into the Pasig River, Nicole jumps into the river in an attempt to rescue Lily, while Vince escapes into Binondo. Because of the incident, the Maser Cannons at Binondo were used early, with Godzilla changing its course, destroying the Central Post Office Building with his tail. Godzilla fires his atomic breath, destroying the Maser Cannons and killing Vince in the process. The bombs were then used, causing the skyscrapers to collapse into Godzilla. The monster emerges from the ruins without any injury, and goes toward the Port of Manila, where he blows up a second group of fighter jets sent by the British government, before submerging into Manila Bay, and disappears into the South China Sea afterwards, never to be seen again. After Godzilla's attack, cleanup and plans for rebuilding the city of Manila begins, while searching for any survivors in the attack, including Lily. Two days has passed, until Lily's deceased body was finally found near the ruins of Jones Bridge. The city of Manila, the Philippines, and the whole world mourns the destruction caused by Godzilla, and Lily's death. Because of what happened, Louise decides to move back to Bacolod, while the city mayor of Manila announces the plans of converting Jones Bridge into a memorial for Lily as part of the "Rebuild Manila" project. In a post-credits scene, at the Atlantic Ocean, another giant monster by the name of Ebirah attacks a US nuclear submarine. Cast Lead cast * Gabbi Garcia as Lily Pelaez * Kate Valdez as Nicole dela Cruz Supporting cast * Alyana Asistio as Diana Santiago * Jenzel Angeles as Louise Ocampo * Janine Gutierrez as Cecilia Perez, City Mayor of Dasmariñas * Analyn Barro as Annalyn Diaz * Ayeesha Cervantes as Kathleen Gonzales * Liezel Lopez as Ella dela Cruz * Reese Tuazon as Eileen dela Rosa * Angel Guardian as Chelsea dela Rosa * Therese Malvar as Nina Evangelista * Tonton Gutierrez as Manuel Rodriguez, President of the Philippines * Glydel Mercado as Alexandra Lopez, Vice-President of the Philippines * Alfred Vargas as Joseph Zamora, City Mayor of Manila * Mika dela Cruz as Jessica dela Fuente Appearances Monsters * Godzilla (ManilaGoji) * Ebirah (cameo) Locations * Philippines ** Manila ** Santa Rosa ** Calamba Weapons, Vehicles, and Races * Super X * Maser Cannon ** Type 66 Maser Cannon * Full-Metal Missile Launcher * Type 10 Tank * Type 61 Tank * Type 90 Tank * M1 Abrams * M270 MLRS * Hatsuyuki-class destroyer * UH-1 Iroquois * AH-1 Cobra * AH-64 Apache * Mitsubishi F-15J * Mitsubishi F-2 Production The Philippines' interest on kaiju movies began in the 1950s, when films like The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and Godzilla were released at the theaters. In 1957, a Filipino studio produced their own edited version of the 1954 kaiju film Godzilla, like its U.S. version known as Godzilla, King of the Monsters! that was released in 1956. The Filipino version was known as Tokyo 1960,Classic Horror Film Board - TOKYO 1960 (1957 movie... with Godzilla?!) and featured local actors in the film that was shot in studios, at the city of Manila. The film was lost afterwards for unknown reasons, only a few posters remain in the 21st century. As the kaiju genre became more popular in the 1960s, several countries around the world tried to produce their own monster movie. Examples include United Kingdom's Gorgo, Denmark's Reptilicus, and South Korea's Yongary, Monster of the Deep. In 1968, the Philippines wanted to produce their very first own monster movie to compete with Toho's Destroy All Monsters, where they have finally completed a script for the film, featuring a giant monster being awakened by mining operations in the mountains of Luzon and attacks Manila, but the script was rejected by many studios due to its budget. By the 1970s, martial law in the Philippines began, as a result this concept was finally abandoned due to lack of interest from the public. During the 1980s and the 1990s, television shows were very popular such as in the United States, as a result the Japanese studio Toho wanted to produce a live-action Godzilla television series in 1991, but due to budget cuts and the Heisei series of films was ongoing at the time, the said project became Godzilla Island instead and Toho wrote a script for the next movie after Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah which was called The Return of King Ghidorah that later became Godzilla vs. Mothra. At the start of 2015, Legendary Pictures' Godzilla became a huge box office success worldwide. Because of this, Toho announced that they will start on producing their own Godzilla movie after a decade of hiatusJapanese Godzilla Returns! - Godzilla.jp with Godzilla: Final Wars as the last. In October 2015, Toho selected various countries around Southeast Asia to become the main setting of their upcoming Godzilla film, the countries that was selected are Brunei, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines. After through a voting contest, the Philippines was selected as the film's main setting after getting the highest votes. By December 2015, Toho officially announced a new live-action Godzilla film under the title Resurrection of Godzilla, with a planned 2018 release. However, it will not be a sequel to any of the previous Godzilla films. Inspiration for the film was drawn from real-life events that took place in both Japan, and the Philippines. Such example is the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Typhoon Haiyan of 2013, and the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo. The film also borrows some elements from the Philippine drama genre, such as the story for the film's characters. Production and filming began in 2016, in the city of Manila while several scenes were shot in the suburban cities of Calamba and Santa Rosa. In order to make the Philippine setting of the film feel realistic, Toho used several Filipino actors and actresses from GMA Network to play the main and supporting characters in the film. Auditions were held by GMA Network to select which actors and actresses will have a role in the upcoming film. 17-year old actress Gabbi Garcia was selected to play the lead role of Lily, while Kate Valdez, who is known for her role as Sang'gre Mira, in the 2016 series Encantadia, was selected to portray Nicole dela Cruz, the best friend of Lily. Other known actresses that were selected to have supporting roles in the film were Alyana Asistio, Liezel Lopez, and Janine Gutierrez. An early draft for this film suggests that King Ghidorah was included, and is going to battle Godzilla in Singapore, but it was scrapped due to Toho wanted the film to focus on Godzilla and the Philippines. Another revision, which is now similar to the final version with a different ending and less destruction scenes, with Dogora also going to battle Godzilla, was scrapped as well. Gallery Alternate Titles * Godzilla 2018: Manila S.O.S.! (Literal Japanese Title) * Godzilla: Resurgence (United States) * Resurrection of Godzilla (Early English Title) * Godzilla, God of Destruction (Philippines) * Godzilla, King of the Monsters (United Kingdom) Theatrical Releases * Japan - January 29, 2018 * United States - June 30, 2018 * Taiwan - February 15, 2018 * Singapore - February 15, 2018 * Philippines - March 2, 2018 * Thailand - March 10, 2018 * Canada - April 26, 2018 * Australia - April 27, 2018 * New Zealand - May 1, 2018 * Mexico - July 12, 2018 * South Korea - July 19, 2018 * Italy - August 3, 2018 * United Kingdom - August 24, 2018 * China - September 18, 2018 * Germany - October 2, 2018 Reception The film has received a 8.2 rating on IMDb and a 78% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Video Releases Toho DVD/Blu-ray (2018) * Region: 1 & 2 * Discs: 2 * Audio: English, Tagalog, Japanese (3.1 and 2.0 Dolby Digital for DVD, 3.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio for Blu-ray) * Subtitles: English, Tagalog, Japanese * Special Features: Trailers, promos, and footage from previsualization and storyboards (39 minutes); additional previsualization and tokusatsu footage (28 minutes); alternate and deleted scenes (53 minutes), VFX breakdown (30 minutes); general behind-the-scenes featurette (35 minutes) * Notes: Includes both the theatrical and extended cuts. Trivia * The Return of Godzilla was the first Godzilla film Toho co-produced with an Philippine studio. * This is the first Toho-produced Godzilla film since Terror of Mechagodzilla to be released in a month other than December. * Although the first entry in what became the Reiwa series, The Return of Godzilla was the last Godzilla film to be produced and released during Japan's Heisei period (平成時代 Heisei jidai), which lasted from 1989 to 2019; the reign of Japanese Emperor Akihito. * The almost 14-year gap between Godzilla: Final Wars and this film is the longest-ever period of time between the release of two Toho Godzilla films, passing the previous record set by the hiatus between 1975's Terror of Mechagodzilla and 1984's The Return of Godzilla by nearly five years. * This is the first Toho Godzilla film since 1984's The Return of Godzilla and first Godzilla film overall since TriStar Pictures' GODZILLA to not feature Godzilla battling another monster. * This is the first film in which Godzilla is the antagonist since Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. in 2003. * This is the first Godzilla film to feature a huge female cast, similar to Godzilla vs. Megalon in 1973, which featured only male characters. ** This is Kate Valdez's first lead role. ** This is also the first appearance of actress Jenzel Angeles after becoming one of GMA Network's artists under GMA Artist CenterIN PHOTOS: Get to know Jenzel Angeles. * The Return of Godzilla is the first Toho Godzilla film since Godzilla 2000: Millennium to receive a theatrical release in North America. ** The Return of Godzilla is also only the second Toho Godzilla film to be released in Japanese and American theaters in the same year, the other being Mothra vs. Godzilla. * Some of the actresses that appeared in this film later appeared and reunited in their own standalone projects. ** Kate Valdez, Jenzel Angeles, and Liezel Lopez appeared in Onanay as one of the series' main charactersCast of Onanay. ** Liezel Lopez and Mika dela Cruz also appeared in the 2019 series Kara MiaIN PHOTOS: The star-studded cast of 'Kara Mia'. ** Alyana Asistio and Therese Malvar both appeared in the 2019 series Inagaw na BituinThe cast of Inagaw na Bituin. * The Return of Godzilla, along with Onanay only a few months later, became more successful than the filmmakers expected. Because of the huge success, a sequel was announced, while Onanay was aired on various countries around the world. It also became a major milestone on Kate Valdez's career, becoming instantly one of the well-known Filipino actressesKate Valdez makes GMA's Filipino soap opera 'Onanay' soarIN FOCUS: Bright future awaits versatile actress Kate Valdez. ** Sometime after the film's release, Toho considered on Gabbi Garcia reappearing in another Godzilla film, due to high demand from viewers. It was confirmed in 2019 that she will reappear in another Godzilla film, but not on Godzilla: The Kaiju InvasionWATCH: Gabbi Garcia aims to break stereotypes with new roleLOOK: Gabbi Garcia is turning into a sharpshooterIN PHOTOS: 18 things that make Gabbi Garcia the most promising action star. * The film's main setting is in the Philippines, which makes it one of the few Godzilla films not taking place in Japan. ** Japan is mentioned several times in the film but not directly shown. Such example is the appearance of Japanese military weapons during Godzilla's rampage in Manila, and several Japanese military troops speaking in Japanese dialogue. ** The role of Super X in this film, is exactly the same from its 1984 counterpart. Both were constructed by the Japanese government in secret in case of a nuclear attack on the Japanese mainland, but is used for the first time against Godzilla. Both versions are also equipped with cadmium missiles, and suffered the same fate during the events of two films: being destroyed by Godzilla. * The Return of Godzilla is one of the most violent films in the entire Godzilla series, with possibly the most onscreen deaths and the majority of its named characters being killed off by the end. ** During pre-production, after reading the final draft of the script, actress Liezel Lopez (who portrays Ella) asked Toho if they can do last-minute changes regarding her character's fate in the film, but it was rejected. ** For unknown reasons, almost every major appearance of actress Therese Malvar in many projects always end up with her character getting killed at the first half of the story. Examples include the 2017 series Legally Blind, and the 2019 series Inagaw na Bituin, counting this one (The Return of Godzilla). * Due to the film's limited screentime, a lot of sequences that was already filmed were cut. The film's total runtime (including the deleted sequences) would be three hours and thirty minutes. ** Godzilla is on camera for 42 minutes in this film, a series record. It was previously held by Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II with 27 minutes of screentime. References Category:Reiwa Series (Meesmoth) Category:Films (Meesmoth)